Ukrainian soldiers are waiting for F-16s, Russians are waiting for shotguns

Kyiv expects the first delivery of F-16 fighter jets from Western countries in June-July this year. He places hope in the approaching delivery that it could change the current course of the war, which has already dragged on for the third year. The advanced jets, which Newsweek says are expected to appear in Ukraine in the next few weeks, are meant to bolster Ukraine’s depleted air force and “give it a significant advantage against Russian forces.”

“Ukrainians hope to dominate the skies with American planes,” Newsweek stated.

But even before the F-16s arrive, Russian forces are becoming increasingly vulnerable to another aerial threat, the tens of thousands of relatively cheap and nimble Ukrainian drones.

Mykhaylo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Technologies, recently revealed plans to manufacture thousands of drones for intrusions into Russian territory. These will mainly be kamikaze drones with explosive capable of striking at a distance of around 20 kilometers from the line of contact.

According to Newsweek, the threat of an intensification of the daily deadly flood has prompted Russian soldiers to look for a quick solution, perhaps using old, outdated weapons. They finally figured it out.

The US Marines also recognized the potential of shotguns

“We need shotguns, we need shotguns,” shouted a Russian soldier who identified himself as Dmitriy in a video describing the difficulties he is having using standard infantry weapons against Ukrainian drones. His fellow soldiers then flooded social media with calls to their fellow citizens to send shotguns to the front-line soldiers to help the Russian soldiers get rid of the “difficult pest.”

“(Ukrainian) drones are constantly bothering us and we are running out of options to deal with them. Shotguns would be a huge game changer for us on the ground,” said one.

According to Newsweek, Ukrainians are also using shotguns against drones, and the potential of these weapons has also been recognized by the US Marines. In April, during maneuvers, Marines from the 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion practiced using shotguns “against small unmanned systems up to 25 kilograms.”

“Shotguns are a versatile and effective tool for combating drones, particularly in urban environments where traditional air defense systems may be less effective,” the US military explained.